Council Meeting: Electric Car Charging Stations, On-line Water Bill Payment, K-9 Unit

The White Plains Common Council will hold its regular meeting on Monday, Nov. 7 at at 7:30 p.m.

The council will vote to appoint Michael Coakley as the City’s Director of Information Services, as well as renew a contract The Roffee Group law firm to act as special council to the City for $44,000 a year.

The firm, which the City has been contracting for the last 16 years, is responsible for helping to draft state legislation proposed by White Plains; to monitor and advocate for the City in regards to state legislative matters; and coordinate the City’s work with the New York State Conference of Mayors.

The council will vote on whether the City will bond an additional $55,000, on top of the original cost of $363,000, to pay for equipment that wasn’t originally anticipated to upgrade the central computer for the traffic signal control system.

White Plains has been offered five electric vehicle stations by Coulomb Technologies thanks to the Chargepoint America Program, which is partially funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.The council will vote on an ordinance accepting the grant at the meeting.

The stations would be located at 16 Ferris Ave.—adjacent to the White Plains Metro-North Train Station—and available for City vehicles to use, as well as private vehicles that reimburse the City for electrical consumption. The department of public works would install the stations for a nominal fee.

The council will also consider accepting several other grants, including:

• $16,000 from the governor’s traffic safety committee for cell phone enforcement
• $10,000 from the governor’s traffic safety committee for pedestrian safety initiatives
• $15,000 from the Fenway Charitable Foundation for the department of public safety to establish a K-9 unit
• $6,386 from the governor’s traffic safety committee for seat belt enforcement during the “Buckle Up New York” campaign 

The City may also soon accept payments for water and sewer charges online, if the council approves the ordinance at the meeting. Click here to see the meeting agenda.

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